Buffer.



c. F. BARNDT.

BUFFER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-18. i916.

v Patented. Apr. 23, 1918 RaCinQiWthe county 'of of. Wiseonsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement f in .'l 3ul fe r's, l of which the following is a v full clear, conc se; I

and eXactYdescriptiom' My invention, relates,

. mobile doors The objects of the invention are to pro I vide 'a buffer which shall act to relieve the shock incident to islain'm-in door; which] shall serv'e' to preventirattling oflthe door; which shall properly aline. the latch with" the opening inthe striker 'fplate'. if the chassis springs or is otherwis e distorted, or if the door sags, and ,which is of simple a nth economi cal const ructibn.' involving the employment @of minimum. amount of,

"In the drawings I have illustrated two forms of the invention. It is to be understood that other forms may be devised, however.

, Figure 1 is a section through an automobile door showing the buifer'in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a side view ofa portion of the automobile body. v

FFig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of i 1'.

' .jig. 4 is an elevation of a modification,

Fig. 5 is a side, View thereof.

The invention is illustrated in connection with an automobile body 1 having the usual hinged door 2; The buffers 3, of which there are preferably two employed, may be secured either'to the body or to the door. In Figs. 1 and 2, they are shown applied to the; automobile body, the door havin a pair of recesses 4 cut therein which confbrm .to the shape of-the buffer. In other words, they are of semi-circular outline, although I do Each bufl'er consists of a block of rubber having a suitable backing or supporting plate 5. As shown in Fig. 3, the plate is bent around to form a top flange 6, the rubber block fitting inthe channel thus formed and being reinforced thereby to a certain eXtent. A pair of screws 7 pass through suitable openings in the flange 6, and an additional slate f mr ov h e izt iini buffers and pfarticularly to buffers for auto;

WW I

l YII j ianimnprfor'naciirn,Wiscons n,

I BUFF R.

Specification of Letters'Iatent. Patented Apr. Illhlll.

' scjrew SQpaSSes through; the. plate 5. The

rubber block is cutaway forming a shoulder 9, wherebyihe flange 6 does not pro-.-

ti-ude beyond the plane of theouter surface ofjthe rubber block, and. is preferably with-- in said plane andsubstantiallyv in the jliiie of mpact when the door is slammed. 'The edge ,of said flange, which is preferablyjin contact .with the shoulder 9', forms arein' forceme'nt for, the rubber. Said edge, which is of generally semi-circular outline, mayhave a straight portion as shownrepresent-- ing the chord of the circle," although such straight edge is not essentiah It{ will be seen thatthei'two buffers are l I .locatedfon opposite sides of the striker plate' 10 'having the usual opening therein to -receive-the latch 11 on the door. Thelocation [of the'bufi'ers and of the recesses 4..

is preferably such that the buffers are struckslightly. before the door is closed far: enough to. permit the spring latch tosnap .into the opening in the strlker plate. In. other words the rubber is intended to be compressed before the door is fully shut, and remains undercompression, Whereb an outward pressure is exerted on said oor, which prevents rattling of the latch.

The walls of the recess 4 also act as guides and guide the door in its closing movement, whereby the latch is always properly alined with the opening in the striker plate. This is an important feature, as. the alinenient is not always maintained if the chassis springs or is otherwise distorted, or if the door sags after long use. In the latter case, the buffers serve to lift the door as it is being forcibly closed, thereby insuring the proper latching thereof.

In Figs. 4 and 5,'the construction of 'the buffer 3 is substantiallythe same as in the preceding illustration. The reinforcing plate 11. however, is simply a piece of metal of angular cross section, one flange of which furnishes a backing or stop for the rubber buffer and the other flange of which has openings through which the screws pass.

An extension or tongue 12 is provided whichis received within an opening extending pa 1'- tlally through the-rubber block and serves to further reinforce the device. The rubber either form of reinforcing plate. The buffer illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, is mounted on an automobile door 13 rather than on the body of the car and the post is cut away, although it will be apparent that either form of bumper may be mounted in either place.

In both forms of the device, it will be seen that the reinforcing flange, which fits within the recess in the buffer, substantially fills said recess whereby the edge of said flange is in contact with the adjacent shoulder on said buffer. This is the preferred arrangement, although in the manufacture of the device, the parts are not always made with suflicient accuracy to avoid a clearance between said parts and, therefore, I do not limit myself to the exact cooperation of the parts illustrated in the drawings. Neither do I intend, by referring to the metal reinforcement as bent, to limit myself to the usedof sheet metal, as other material may be use The constructions described. have proved to be particularly advantageous when used on automobile doors, although I do not limit myself to their use on vehicles as distinished from doors otherwise located. Furt ermore, various changes may be made in Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A device of the class described comprising a buffer provided with a recess and a slot therein, and a metal holder therefor, said holder being bent to form a reinforcing flange to engage said recess, said flange eing provided with :1 depending lug adapted for engagement with said slot to further re; inforce said bu'li'er.

2. A device of the class described, cougprising a bufl'er having a recess in one face thereof, and a metal holder bent to receive said bufl'er, one flange of said holder being arranged substantially longitudinally with respect to the line of impact and being adapted to fit within said recess and to contact with the walls thereof, whereby the outer portion of said buffer is compressed against said flange when said buffer is subjected to an im act.

In witness w ereof, I, hereunto Subscribe my name.

CHARLES F. iARND'l.

Commissioner of Patents.

Washington. D. O." 

